Music that’s just music is good for the soul; great for the soul in fact.
But how much better is it when it has some lyrical depth to go along with it too?
When artists pour their heart and soul into their songs and offer not just music to move us but words to make us think ,feel and live; those kinds of songs are beautiful and precious because they touch so much of who we are.
These five songs reflect creators who have lived what they are writing and singing about, investing their tracks with so much meaning and humanity that you can’t help but be richer for listening to them.
“Hyperfixations” by Catie Turner
Wearing your heart on your sleeve is not the hallmark of all pop artists, but those that do manage to live their lives in their lyrics, the effect on their music is quite powerful.
Case in point is Catie Turner, an American singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania who in the words of Thomas Bleach has “always been poignant and honest” but who, with her new two-part release Comedy & Tragedy in the offing, is “even further baring her inner-monologue than ever before”.
You can hear it to highly impacting effect on “Hyperfixations”, which addresses what it’s like for a person with ADHD to deal with the chaos of thoughts in their head.
She’s honest to an impressive degree, with Bleach, who acknowledges they are “still coming to terms with their ADHD” noting that “the delivery has this chaotic edge with the fast paced thoughts that bounce around.”
Married with danceable upbeat music, “Hyperfixations” is a superb piece of pop that nails what it’s like to have the world moving as a super fast pace and to wonder if you’re really keeping up, after all.
“Big Lizard Energy” by Ellie Dixon
Prize of the post for best title must surely go to Ellie Dixon whose song “Big Lizard Energy” entrances and attracts based on the title alone.
The 24-year-old Brit on the rise, hailed by the likes of The i for balancing “fun with killer tunes and intriguing ideas” and Music Week for “mixing punchy pop and wit to brilliant effect” doesn’t just have a catchily quirky title though; her song is lyrically clever and witty, the music is light and captivatingly bouncy and vocally emotive to a playful degree that also feels emotionally meaningful.
It’s an infectiously fun mix that actually tackles what it’s like to deal with life placing giant pressures on you.
“Big Lizard Energy is the musical embodiment of a parody disaster movie all about gaining perspective on the stresses around you. As an anxious person I’ve always found myself blowing problems out of proportion so during a time I was particularly struggling with this, I wanted to write a song that did the opposite – blew ME out of proportion.
I imagined I was a giant lizard towering over a city and suddenly I felt a lot better (‘Not so scared when I’m 320ft’). It’s a tongue-in-cheek look into the overthinking mind and how panic can escalate quickly (“Hit the red alert when it’s just a bit of caution”) but how we can control our response to the things that panic us. It’s a reminder to take a breather and remember that we are much bigger than the negative parts of our lives.” (Rock n’ Load)
“Loving You” by Cannons
Childhood friends Ryan Clapham and Paul Davis began exploring their musical gifts in their teens, eventually bringing in singer Michelle Joy (via Craigslist no less) in 2013 to round out the sound of what became the band Cannons.
With a number of studio albums to their credit, the LA-based alternative/electro-pop threesome now have the song “Loving You” which has a light and airy feel to it, anchored by Joy’s ethereally emotionally resonant vocals which lend the track the feel of an all-encompassing cosy world of its own, which reflects, say Cannons, what fuelled the song’s creation.
“One of the most beautiful things we have witnessed over the past year of touring consistently and meeting our fans is music’s ability to create a sense of belonging between individuals, a safe space, a family. ‘Loving You’ is our love song dedicated to every single one of you who has supported us during every step of this journey.” (Broadway World)
They no doubt felt every last bit of this fan-driven love when they performed at Coachella in April and also at more intimate shows at venues like Berkeley’s Greek Theatre and LA’s Roxy Theatre.
“Losing Sleep” by Cyn
Hailing from Michigan, Can is one of those artists who deftly and with great emotiveness, fills her beautiful music with thoughtfully revealing lyrics.
Take “Losing Sleep”, a track which is about “feeling so ecstatically in love that it’s difficult to sleep” and which has a lot to recommend it, according to the artist.
… this song is playful like a handclap and mature in its declarations. I love the 3-part harmony in the pre-chorus, and I adore the song’s unapologetic pop sensibility. (Flaunt)
It’s dreamy ode to the glories of loving someone so much that reality actually gets a romantic glow (which, as we all know, takes some doing!) and which reflects what sounds like a cheery upcoming album.
My upcoming album is a lot to smile about. I had so much fun pouring my heart into every single song. I consider this record an ode to my favorite female songwriters—I can hear so much of my favorite music in these songs. We used a lot of guitar and were aiming for that kind of euphoric sound from the late 90s. I followed my heart to make the record and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it. (Flaunt)
“Astrology Poisoning” by Avalon Emerson
When you’re known for one genre, leaping to another, while not an impossible move, can feel a little risky but as Resident Advisor happily notes, it’s paying off beautifully for Avalon Emerson who is primarily known as an American electronic music producer and DJ.
Avalon Emerson started her 2020 DJ-Kicks mix with a curveball: a cover of The Magnetic Fields’ “Long Forgotten-Fairytale.” This was the first time listeners heard something other than dance music from Emerson, and it was the first time they heard her voice, too. The cover was a good indication of where her head was at around that time, when a planned production stint in LA was cut short. Instead, she moved up to the more remote locale of the Catskills, due north of New York City, the perfect place for her to try something new when DJing had all but dried up. All this spare time went into her debut album, & The Charm, where, naturally, Emerson throws another Uncle Charlie, swerving away from club music into new terrain—dream-pop—with an ambitious goal: writing timeless pop songs.
And timeless songs like “Astrology Poisoning certainly are.
All lo-fi melody and emotionally resident vocals, the song is a wafting joy to listen to, a deliciously sublime and nuanced piece of ethereally lush pop that has some sting in the lyrical tail, just to add some extra depth and measure to a song already rich in it.
She has married thoughtfully insightful and time-worn lyrics with music that suits that kind of nuanced rumination and it works so well, indicating that change can sometimes be the making of something very special indeed.